Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 9th, 2010
During the chaos of a mutiny, three British officers in India get their hands on a great treasure. They do not do so honorably, however, and, mistrustful of each other, make a blood pact, which cannot be broken without suffering a terrible curse. Decades later, the three have experienced very different fortunes, and vengeance has come to call. Irene (Susannah Harker), the daughter of one of these men, seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes (Charlton Heston!) and Dr. Watson (Richard Johnson). There are many dark deeds to unravel, and along the way, Watson and Irene fall in love.
The reason for this obscurity's arrival on home video is obvious, what with the Guy Ritchie movie doing the same. While this effort is far less problematically revisionist than Ritchie's, it still presents much for the Holmes fan to struggle past. Apart from the squirm-inducing age difference between Johnson and Harker, there is, of course, the supremely odd casting of Heston as Holmes. In fact, Heston had played the part in the stage version of this story, and to his credit, he does have a solid grasp on the character, and his English accent is serviceable. His angular features are also right for the part, though there is also a muscular physicality to Heston that makes his Holmes seem just as likely to punch through a wall as solve a mystery. And Heston is one of those stars who never disappears into a role, and so one is always conscious of watching Heston, not Holmes, on the screen. As for the film itself, its stage origins remain obvious, despite the many locations. This is an entertaining enough oddity, but no more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2010
Most people don't know or remember that Andy Griffith had a career before his television classic reached the airwaves. He had a pretty distinctive stand-up routine going for many years that included recordings like most stand-ups of the day. He had quite a famous bit about a country farm boy seeing his very first football game. It was called “I Think They Call It Football”, and it's a priceless classic. Andy also found his way into a couple of movies in the days before he became Sheriff Andy Taylor. One of those movies was No Time For Sergeants. It wasn't a stretch for this country boy, and fans of the rural years of Andy Griffith will find about everything they're looking for here.
Will Stockdale (Griffith) is down on the farm with his Pop enjoying the slow life when they are visited by an officer from the draft board. It appears that Will has been getting draft letters, but his Pop keeps throwing them away. Now Will is considered a draft dodger and is taken away in cuffs to be inducted into the Air Force. Along the way he befriends Ben Whitledge (Adams) who comes from six generations of infantry. His mother has sent a letter asking that the military honor the tradition by giving Ben a transfer to the infantry in the Army. Will, a naive rural boy, just wants to help. So he goes directly to the company leader, Sergeant King (McCormick) and tries to help out his new pal. What he ends up with is the assignment as PLO, Permanent Latrine Orderly, a post Will thinks is intended as an honor. But when the Captain discovers the "honor", he puts King in charge of Will's classification. If Will isn't classified in one week, King will be the next PLO. The film follows the antics of getting Will classified before the three (King, Will, and Ben) are assigned to gunnery training. With Ben and Will on a training flight, their plane ends up in the middle of Yucca Flats during a nuclear test. Presumed dead, the "heroes" are to receive posthumous medals at a gathering in their honor. It's all a nice fitting tribute until the boys show up at their own memorial service.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2010
"Most of the world's population has been wiped out by a virus. Civilization, as we know it, has come to an end. For the few survivors, every day is a fight for life. But sinister forces threaten their future."
Right from the opening credits, you can see that a lot has changed since 1975 and the original series. I'm guessing that my watching them back to back allows for even more dramatic notice of the changes. Everything is cleaner here. The production values are light-years away from what they were. Even the disc menus reflect the higher-tech edge of the 21st century production values. The credits claim that this series is not really based on the original show, but more on Terry Nation's novel. I never read the novel, but it appears there is some truth to that statement. The episode titles no longer have individual titles. They are merely listed as Episode One, Two... and so on. Once you begin to watch the show, you will find that you recognize many of the characters by name and, at times, circumstance, but these are not the same people at all. More on that later.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 4th, 2010
In many ways the epic story and film Doctor Zhivago echoes the real-life story of Boris Pasternak, who penned the original novel. Pasternak was a firsthand witness to the events that led to and became the Russian Revolution. He collected 50 years of memories that began with the early days before the revolution and ended with his own confrontations with the USSR government. Like Zhivago in the story, Pasternak's work was banned in his own country. The manuscript had to be smuggled out of Russia and found its way first to Italy, where it was finally published for the first time. But it didn't stop there. The book quickly found its way to countries all over the globe. It was translated into several languages in a very short time. In 1957 Pasternak was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for literature. Alas, that was not meant to be. He was confronted with the Party Government and warned he would not be permitted to return home should he go to Sweden to accept the prestigious award. And while that might not have appeared to have been much of a threat when you consider Pasternak's harsh observations, this was his homeland, and he did have family there who would have most assuredly paid a price for his actions. He declined the award, begging the committee to not "judge him too harshly". It would be Pasternak's last stand. He would never see the complete success of the novel or the impact it made on the world stage. He died just three years after turning down the award. He was never to see David Lean's epic interpretation of his work. He never saw the film Doctor Zhivago.
I must confess that I too had never seen the movie. I had certainly seen many clips of the film. It was impossible to follow films, in general and not be aware of the film and its impact. Of course, I had heard much of the music. The Love Theme, also called Lara's Theme, has become one of the most recognizable movie themes in the history of the industry. The movie was quite popular, but circumstances just never presented themselves for me to have the opportunity to see this movie, at least in a manner worthy of its reputation. Certainly, there were television showings, but I could never bring myself to experience such an iconic film in a cut-up fashion with likely an inferior print. Even DVD kept me at a distance. Did I really want to watch this movie with a 3-4 mbps bit rate? Certainly not. I suspect there is perhaps an entire generation of film fans out there that found themselves in the same situation. We've been asking ourselves: will there ever be any chance of seeing the movie in a format that preserves its splendor? I guess I was holding out for a nostalgic screening at a local at house theatre. And then came Blu-ray, with its limitless possibilities, and finally a copy of Doctor Zhivago would arrive on my doorstop. My dog barked ceaselessly at the UPS man who delivers these goodies on an almost daily basis. This time there was an extra snarl in that growl, I was sure of it. Could she have known that this particular delivery was going to find me and my wife locked away for nearly 4 hours (in my case more like 6) in our, closed to dogs, little theater? She knew. She knew.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 4th, 2010
Most of my growing up and living occurred in the 1980’s. From ages five to fifteen, I grew up in an era that was famous to many different types of cartoons. It helped to shape my personality, from bad jokes to that unmistakable sarcasm. So, it was easy to attract me to a cartoon set that showcased odds and ends from that familiar era. Join me as we take a step back in history, a history that hits very close to home.
The first toon we find is one called Goldie Gold & Action Jack. They fight by air, by sea and by the seat of their pants. They aren’t kidding. Goldie is a certified lunatic: she rides a helicopter indoors, jumps out windows and talks to hobos. Doesn’t she know that she is blonde and rich? Jack really isn’t all that Action, he’s just good at being lucky. The show is very gadget heavy and has a little Scooby Doo sleuthing thrown in.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 26th, 2010
"No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny. He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, he must live and learn. And so it will be for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot. A boy that will, in time, father a legend. His name ... Merlin."
Merlin. You know the name. It conjures up images of a white-haired old man with a long gray beard and a long pointed hat. His story is indeed legend. In the myths of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, he is destined to be the mentor to the King of Camelot. We've all heard the stories of the Sword in the Stone and the Age of Chivalry. Perhaps it is totally appropriate that this telling of Merlin come from British television. England is, after all, the origin of the fanciful legends.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 16th, 2010
The Falcon Crest series ran 227 episodes from December of 1981 to May of 1990. The show’s creator, Earl Hamner actually worked on the Waltons and wanted to make a show about a family in the wine industry. However, when CBS got a hold of the series they wanted to make it more like rival show, Dallas. Translation: we want more smut and backstabbing. The show, Falcon Crest was born. I think John Boy would have been shot in the first season had he lived in Tuscany Valley. Good night indeed.
Emma Channing (played by Margaret Ladd) and her boyfriend, Turner Bates (played by Robert F. Lyons) are fooling around in the Falcon Crest winery. Apparently, Emma has never been with a man before, so there is much laughter and screaming. Her Uncle Jason (played by Harry Townes) overhears the racket and comes to investigate what is going on.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2010
"Imagine a world of incredible color and beauty. Of crabs wearing jellyfish for hats. Of fish disguised as frogs, stones, and shag carpets. Of a kaleidoscope of underwater life. Now go explore it."
Jim Carrey narrates this IMAX experience that takes you deep under the ocean. The film focuses on five particular locations: New Britain and Milne Bay (both in New Guinea), South Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, and Indonesia. Because this was filmed with IMAX equipment and presented here in high definition, you can expect a pretty spectacular ride on this one. Most of the animals shown here are obscure and rare, including plenty of cuttlefish segments and some really bizarre but striking sea dragons. The coral reef settings are extremely beautiful. It was originally presented in 3D during its IMAX run, but that version is not included here.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
Warner nearly singlehandedly invented the cartoon medium as we know it today with the advent of their various Bugs Bunny and associates cartoons. Ever since the early 1930’s these characters have become an indelible part of the American pop culture. Their images became an important part of the World War II effort and even helped to put a face on the issues of the Great Depression. They represent one of the richest histories in animation, second only to Walt Disney. There are some, I’m sure, that would argue they might even belong in front of Uncle Walt. When I was growing up in the 1970’s, I had no idea I was enjoying cartoons and characters that were already 40 years old. The truth is that my grandfather had been a fan of these same cartoons when he was a kid. Today the Warner cycle of Loony Tunes cartoons is over 70 years young. Things might have changed with the passing of Mel Blanc, who provided most of those familiar voices for much of that time, but Bugs and the gang are still out there and going strong.
Which brings us to Bugs Easter Funnies.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 7th, 2010
"Right there in that very house is where our story begins. The story of the first Easter Rabbit. And, you know we came within a hair's breadth, if you'll excuse the pun, of never having an Easter Rabbit at all."
Rankin & Bass brought us some of the most memorable holiday specials ever made. Most of us grew up watching these cartoons and stop motion shorts no matter what age we grew up in. You see, this stuff has been on television non-stop for 50 years. There are so many classics. There's Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman, and so many others that we could fill the page with our own memories. For the most part, just putting the Rankin & Bass name to a special pretty much guaranteed an entertaining and enduring tale. Unfortunately, The First Easter Rabbit just isn't one of those.
